The customer experience is cyclical in nature. It starts from the first moment the customer encounters your brand - all the way to making a sale, and then to after sales and relationship management until you make another sale to the them, and the wheel keeps turning on like that.
Customer Purchase journey
The following figure shows the various stages in a customer purchase journey. This applies to B2C and B2B.
Dreaming: This is when the customer has a requirement and wants to find a solution for it. In this phase they could be browsing the internet, generally researching their need or keeping their eye out for a fitting product or service.
The next four steps form the Qualification Loop.
Search: Here the user is actively searching for a solution - asking advice from their network - they are searching the internet and browsing trusted websites and social media for definitive answers. YouTube is the #1 resource for researching products and services.
Discovery: This is where and when the customer discovers and makes first contact with a suitable solution. This is the opportunity for the product or the service and the brand to make the first good impression.
Investigation: In this stage the users are investigating the product they like in further detail. The customer wants to study the benefits of the product, the composition of it, the brand, the science or the heritage behind it, etc.
Shortlisting: Here the user feels that they have investigated enough number of products to a satisfying degree and start making a list of the ones they like the best.
Selection: This is where the user is helped in successfully removing any final 'objections to purchase'. These objections could be price point related, or in relation to the minimum quantity of purchase or the length of commitment - you get the idea.
The reason Selection is outside the Qualification Loop is because once the user has selected a product, they move straight into purchasing it without looping back to another product. This shift happens as soon as all the 'objections to purchase' are successfully neutralised, rendering the product fully qualified for purchase. This is where the item gets added to the cart or the customer makes a direct enquiry via phone, email, pigeons, etcetera.
Purchase: This is the last stage of the purchase funnel. This is where the product or service gets purchased or ‘checked out’. Just because the customer has started the checkout process, does not mean that they will complete it. Despite the psychological motivation, reasons like broken checkout journeys, slow websites, and hidden costs and information revealed only at the last stage can put off customers very quickly. This turn-off can leave a irreparable dent. Meaning not just losing the sale, but also the customers to another brand permanently.
What role does the understanding of the purchase journey play in increasing eCommerce revenue?
To increase traffic and conversions, it is essential that a brand creates value for the customer at every stage of the purchase funnel.
The chart above needs to have at least one value adding communication effort to be placed at every stage of the purchase journey. And each effort needs to move the customer into the next stage.
By communication here I means having stories about your product or service present on various channels and platforms that your customers prefer. Here are a few examples:
• Features and benefit - the science behind your product where applicable
• Customer reviews
• Your brand story and the journey so far
• Your strengths as a business and therefore your competitive advantages.
• If your brand is tied to a person or a group of people - then it's their stories that also must be told. Think Gordon Ramsay or Top Gear or Paul Mitchell or Spice Girls. The people mentioned here or the brands rather - all started from zero. It is the consistent brand building through a uniform narrative told across a variety of channels over time that has made them celebrities and global brands.
• Features and benefit - the science behind your product where applicable
• Customer reviews
• Your brand story and the journey so far
• Your strengths as a business and therefore your competitive advantages.
• If your brand is tied to a person or a group of people - then it's their stories that also must be told. Think Gordon Ramsay or Top Gear or Paul Mitchell or Spice Girls. The people mentioned here or the brands rather - all started from zero. It is the consistent brand building through a uniform narrative told across a variety of channels over time that has made them celebrities and global brands.
This is an implementation of Jordan Belfort's straight-line method where a brand takes the customer from enquiry to sale while building rapport and answering questions to remove any ‘objections to purchase’. This is the simplest formula to making a sale at the margins you desire and at the quantities the customer desires. Do this well and you can then create new desires in your customer and upsell and cross sell in the process. To implement the straight-line method in the context of an online customer experience, you'll need three things. Read on.
My name is Ben, I am a freelance creative director and designer. Here's a bit about me. To discuss your requirements, drop me a line at ben@bettercallben.studio.